Bartleby
About Bartleby
Bartleby (that's his last name) the Scrivener is a famous Herman Melville character whose surprisingly powerful refrain was, "I would prefer not to." Or, in the immortal words of any two-year-old: No.
Putting that aside, Bartleby is a unique baby name that could make a lively literary alternative to Barnaby.
Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street was made into movies three times, the latest starring Christian Glover. In the 1999 film "Dogma," Bartleby is a fallen angel played by Ben Affleck.
Pronounced BART-ul-bee.
Editor's take: The name Bartleby is a boy's name meaning "son of the furrow".
Popularity & trends
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Bartleby on lists
Bartleby in pop culture
- "Bartleby
the Scrivener" (1856), Melville's short story about a scrivener, or law,copyist. The narrator, his employer, says he is "the strangest I ever saw, or heard of"
- Bartleby Gaines
Justin Long's character in "Accepted"